


A voice within the blowing of the wind

by HikariYumi



Series: Touching the sky [6]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Connor is socially awkward, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gen, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hank adopted Connor, Kid Connor, Kid Fic, No Androids, POV Hank Anderson, Teenage Connor, The Jericho gang, connor has good friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 03:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15721128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariYumi/pseuds/HikariYumi
Summary: Connor has been withdrawing for a while now, as his friends figure out that he might envy them for their hobbies they make it their quest to find one for him.





	A voice within the blowing of the wind

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there,
> 
> I’ve finally come around writing a bit more for this verse and realised that this is a just filler. While brainstorming for new plot points a good friend had proposed this idea to me along with one for the next story. It might me the last one in this series.  
> This is more or less a subtle set up for it and in my opinion pretty underwhelming... but the image of Connor picking a hobby just stuck with me and I decided to share it anyway.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading and all your lovely comments I’ve received. I’m really flattered!
> 
> ~Hikari

“Hey, kid. You’ve been doing alright?”  
Hank threw a quick glance over his shoulder to the boy who’d just returned from school.   
“Food’s ready in ten.”  
Connor nodded and gifted him with a smile before he vanished into his room to get rid of his bag and refresh a bit.

“Do you want to go over to Markus’ later? I could take you, I’m off tonight.”  
As it had become the kid’s usual response to that question, he declined with a polite shake of his head.   
“Okay then. If you change your mind tell me alright?”  
They both knew that it wouldn’t be the case. Privately Hank had hoped that the two weeks with Markus would encourage Connor to hang around more with his friends again, but it even seemed to have had the opposite effect.

The problem was that Hank didn’t really know what happened to make the boy draw back into himself, it surely wasn’t because of an argument. Not only because Connor never actually argued with someone, but during the time Markus had lived with them, especially after the whole hospital mess, they’d been incredibly close.  
It really started to worry him.

“Set the table then? When you finished your homework you can join me for a movie, if you want to?”  
At that Connor seemed to light up. “Gladly, Hank!”  
Hank couldn’t help but smile to himself, the kid’s honest affection never failed to warm his old heart.

~

“Anything exciting at school?”  
The lieutenant skimmed through the newspaper absently as Connor crouched on the floor, giving Sumo a hearty belly-rub.  
The boy seemed to think for a second before he answered: “We’ve got a new student, he transferred from Texas. His name is Richard Perkins.”

“You talked to him?”  
“Briefly.”

Connor trained his attention back on the St. Bernard, going quiet for long enough that Hank thought it would just stay like that.  
“Josh started tutoring some of the younger kids at school. One of his teachers recommended him because they noticed how well he does when it comes to explaining.”

Hank gently put the magazine down on to the coffee table, gears in his brain turning quickly.  
“I’m happy for him, from what I know about Josh, I think he’ll do a great job.”  
Connor’s eyes were dark and thoughtful when they met his, hands still buried in the thick fur.  
“Yes, that’s very likely.”

Silence settled between them, the low rumble of the TV easing any strain that could’ve been caused by it.  
“Are Markus and Simon still active in the debating club?”  
“Yes. Simon originally might’ve only joined because Markus did, but it seems as if he grows more comfortable there every week. Next month a debate against another school will take place.”  
Sumo rolled around and dropped his heavy head into Connor’s lap.  
“They asked the others and me to come cheer for them. North will even skip her drama club that day.”

“Seems like you’re going to have fun then. Will it be held at your school?”  
Connor nodded and bent over to press a little kiss on top of Sumo’s head before standing. As usual, that prompted Hank to shake his head in fond amusement. The kid always seemed to apologise when he stopped playing with the dog. Not that it was necessary though. Every blind person could see the love Connor held for the old St. Bernard, nearly spoiling him rotten sometimes.

“Yes. Markus said it would take place in the auditorium.”  
Hank let out a calm hum, waiting if the kid would say something else. But instead Connor slipped on to the sofa next to him, close enough that their shoulders brushed.

“I think one of the officers said something about an interesting movie tonight.” Hank gently slung an arm around his son’s shoulders, tugging him closer. Connor went along without any resistance.   
“Shall we see if it’s worth our while?”  
The boy sneakily cuddled into him, nodding against the man’s chest, silent.

Hank smiled, a tad saddened, and switched on the TV.

~

“You’re doing alright?”  
Connor looked up from where he was currently researching something for his homework. It rarely happened that the boy had real problems in school and when he did, Hank was glad that his friends never left him to deal with it alone. The only worrying occurrence was Connor’s inherit grimness to get everything right, which kept him up until deep into the night of Hank didn’t stop him.

“I’m just searching for an article I’ve read a while ago, I think it would be beneficial to include it in my essay.”  
“I see, I won’t hold you up then.”  
The kid nodded and was already turning back to his computer when he stopped in his tracks. Hank raised an eyebrow expectantly.  
“Josh proposed that we could visit the sport centre downtown and try out the climbing walls there. Can I go with them?”

Surprised by that question the lieutenant blinked, but quickly regained his posture.  
“Of course, sure. Do you need a ride? It’ll be a tight fit with all of you but I’m sure we can manage somehow.”  
Connor’s lips quirked into a tiny smile before he shook his head. “Thank you, but it’s fine. We’ll take the bus directly after school.”

“Good. Good. Do that. I hope you’ll have fun.”

~

If Hank had been irritated by the sudden euphoria of trying out activities around town, he quickly figured out the reason for that.  
After Simons and Markus’ debate a few weeks back, the friends had used most of the free time they had to coordinate visiting to hit everything fun they could think of in the area. They were obviously trying to find a hobby or pastime for Connor.

Apparently, the other teens had realised that their friend was feeling self-conscious about not being able to have any hobbies to share anecdotes about. Hank could only congratulate them for their quick understanding, he himself had needed quite a bit to figure out Connor’s problem.  
Anyway, it had led to some funny conversations, at least from Hank’s perspective.

After the first outing for example, the lieutenant had been greeted by a pouty looking boy in his kitchen. He sat in one of the kitchen chairs, an ice pack pressed to his lower back and Sumo loyally flopped down at his feet.  
“Climbing is not your thing then?”  
“It appears not to.”

Hank had barely been able to contain his laughter, when he was told that the boy had fallen down in the children’s area, there where no safety bindings where necessary. Connor proved less than graceful when it came to coordinated activities like this. Sadly, none of the kids ha thought to film the whole thing, it might’ve made a nice memory.

In the following month Hank watched his son return home from canoeing, bungee jumping and a paintball match along with other things he hadn’t even known you could do in Detroit. Unfortunately, it was always more or less the same outcome as the first. But even sometimes when the activities had been fun, it was never enough for Connor to pick it up as a hobby afterwards.

The boy himself was to equal parts embarrassed and touched by his friends’ combined efforts, as he often mentioned to Hank. He felt as if he was wasting the others’ time by his lack of interest, but didn’t want to tell them to stop their outings completely. 

By the time the exam period started, the groups afternoon activities morphed into studying together. That was quite in Hank’s interest, because Markus and Josh would make sure that Connor wouldn’t go overboard and stress himself too much.   
Hank could remember quite clearly how Markus had explained to him what his son’s biggest concerns had been upon waking up after his appendix surgery.   
Sadly, the lieutenant didn’t have any problems envisioning the kid overwork himself over minor things like quizzes and exams. It had already happened after all.

~

“Hank? Could I talk to you for a second?”  
Out of nowhere the fifteen-year old appeared next to him, right as Hank angled in the fridge for his soda.  
“Uh, sure. What’s up, Markus?”

The boy peered the last remaining centimetres up at him, contemplating his words carefully.  
“I could be wrong, but Connor seems to be bothered by something.”  
Instinctively Hank glanced over to the teenagers who were hunched over their notes and textbooks in the living room. Connor currently shuffled through some papers with North peeking over his shoulder.

“Why do you think so?”  
It wasn’t necessarily that Hank was disagreeing, the boy had changed lately, but he was wondering what Markus had noticed beyond the issue they’d already tried to fight..  
The teenager seemed to have to think about it, conflicted for a reason Hank couldn’t quite grasp.  
“You know that he isn’t the most loud spoken person in school, but lately he’d been quiet even for his standards. Sometimes he doesn’t even join us during the breaks.”

That was indeed news to the lieutenant, Connor hadn’t mentioned that.  
“Do you think the reason is still him feeling from you?”  
Markus’ eyes wandered over to his friends as well, looking troubled enough that Hank wanted to give him a warm squeeze.  
“I don’t know, Connor doesn’t... he isn’t really forthcoming with information if he doesn’t want to.”

Yes, Hank couldn’t argue with that, he considered himself lucky whenever his son approached him to share thoughts with him.   
“I’ll keep an eye on him. It’s not as if I haven’t noticed the kid being off.”  
Markus nodded at him right as Simon raised his head and called him over again.  
“Now go, looks like they need you over there.”

~

A few evenings later Connor had come to the precinct with Hank, it was the Friday after the period’s last exam, so there was no reason to go to bed early. As expected the kid hadn’t wanted to join his classmates in their party, celebrating the temporary break from studying.

Connor claimed his usual desk opposite the lieutenant’s, which was even after all the time still unoccupied. He had pulled out a book Carl had lend to him the last time the boy had been visiting.

After his briefing was over, Hank gently ruffled Connor’s hair and shrugged on his jacket.  
“See ya later, kid.”  
The boy smiled and nodded before burying his nose back into the novel.

Two hours later, Connor still sat exactly where he’d left him, only with the difference that Reed, no Gavin, was leaning against the tabletop. They appeared to be talking, but upon noticing his arrival the detective pushed away from the desk to return to his own work station. When their paths crossed, they exchanged a polite nod, but nothing more.

“What were you and Gavin talking about?”  
Hank desperately tried not to sound too curious. Connor though didn’t seem to mind at all, instead smiled and happily replied:   
“I asked him what he does in his free time and apparently he likes to jog after work.”  
Involuntary Hank glanced over to his colleague who was idly typing away on his computer. That was a new piece of information about the gruff detective, one he’d never bothered to obtain himself.

“Oh, does he?”  
“Yes! He asked if I want to join him to try it out and I agreed.”  
Hank wasn’t sure why Gavin had invited the kid, knowing Connor it might’ve been pure courtesy and not an actual request and he just hadn’t noticed. The boy still wasn’t the best at picking up social cues when it concerned to himself.

“Well, that sounds like fun” the lieutenant offered but when Connor asked if he wanted to come along tomorrow a “hell, no” slipped out of Hank’s lips before he could stop it.  
The kid didn’t seem to mind that either and just kept on smiling, obviously excited about the whole thing.  
Connor was a weird boy.

~

Hank was halfway through his first coffee of the day when the front door opened the next morning. Other than him, Gavin had worked a complete night shift and had met up with Connor around six for their scheduled run.  
Hank himself had heard his son leave in time for him to be five minutes early and had turned around in his bed with relish.

When the boy entered the kitchen Hank didn’t have to ask how his morning had went, the plain joy was hard to miss. He did it anyway just to hear the usually unfazed teenager babble in excitement.

It turned out that Connor found it relaxing to just jog for miles on end with nothing more than the occasional stop to hydrate and stretch in between. He said it helped to calm his racing thoughts and cleared his head. 

The only thing that really disappointed Hank about this development was that he wouldn’t be there to see the faces of the other kids, when Connor told them about his new hobby. After all the time they had spent presenting him the most interesting and thrilling activities they could think of, it was running around in a park that Connor had taken a liking to.  
Their reaction had to be hilarious.

Later that day, after the boy had showered and the two of them sat down for a small breakfast, Hank’s old heart leaped. For the first time for quite a while Connor was looking at peace with himself.


End file.
